TEXTILES TOUR
15 – 29 April 2017

This annual hosted tour follows the ancient trade routes across the Atlas Mountains from Marrakech to the Sahara and includes the imperial cities of Rabat and Fes.

We explore the traditional Amazigh (Berber) crafts of Morocco at a grassroots level where women’s cooperative ventures present a range of textile creations that meld age-old skills with new innovations. Weavers of carpets and cloth, embroiderers and basket weavers are found in remote locations where they still employing their skills to enrich and maintain their traditional life style.

At the gateway to the Sahara we encounter the immense sense of space, silence, changing colour and light of the landscape. We meet the inhabitants of this extreme environment in an unforgettable desert experience where women continue to weave the traditional wool tents of the nomadic tribes on simply constructed portable desert looms and decorate and furnish their homes with wool and recycled rag rugs.

The Amazigh Culture & TEXTILES tour includes hands-on experiences and demonstrations. Your tour host artist/curator Rita Lazauskas has many years experience working with textile artists and collections.Working in public galleries as a curator and in the development of education programs, workshops and guided tours, together with her passion for Morocco and the indigenous Amazigh (Berber) Culture, makes Rita an excellent host for this tour.

Accommodation is provided in the most comfortable traditional guesthouses, where we enjoy the extraordinary delights of Amazigh food and hospitality. Travelling with a small group of like-minded enthusiasts and experienced guides you will discover the highlights of Morocco and the Amazigh Culture that evolves and continues largely through the extraordinary textile tradition. We also enjoy music and a complete range of traditional cultural experiences and crafts. Partners or travelling companions are most welcome and will not be left out!